Orascom earning money again

Munich/Zurich. Recent years have shaken Samih Sawiris and his companies. But the Egyptian entrepreneur with headquarters in Switzerland and various projects in crisis-buffeted destinations remains with his long-term strategy. "One crisis would have been enough," he says looking back on the fallout from the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008, "but a second immediately in the aftermath?" Here he refers to the Egypt crisis which also hit the billion euro Orascom Hotel Development business. Meanwhile, he's streamlined certain projects and has brought third parties on board. At the same time, he strengthened distribution last year - with participations in the German tour operator FTI and the RT Group. With FTI, he aims to give a massive boost to hotel business - for the benefit of both sides. A very close partnership is in the making here. hospitalityInside.com met Samih Sawiris in February in Munich.